Suda51’s Studio Grasshopper Manufacture Announces Acquisition of NetEase Games

Grasshopper Manufacture, the studio led by No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda (Suda51), has announced that it has become a subsidiary of the giant Chinese publisher NetEase Games under a share transfer agreement active on May 31. of 2021.

“Grasshopper Manufacture celebrated its 23rd anniversary in March of this year,” Suda said in a comment alongside the announcement. “Our studio is comprised of a diverse staff with a variety of backgrounds and personalities, all of whom love video games. By thinking about the strengths and peculiarities of our company, I could see a new future for our way of creative production.

“NetEase Games has released many great games and I have heard of their solid reputation for a long time. When NetEase Games presented the opportunity to work together on unique consumer games, I concluded that by working together we can deliver even more powerful and creative titles to our audience.

“Additionally, NetEase Games is a trusted partner who understands and supports our strengths. They will support us on the management side and fund the development of our game, but the planning and production of our games will be entirely in our hands. This means that we can guarantee a consistent “grasshopper build style” and the quality of our games. Additionally, we will receive valuable support from thousands of NetEase Games artists and technical staff in areas such as graphic support and quality control. Our goal is to make the most of these resources and deliver three more quintessential Grasshopper Manufacture games over the next 10 years.

“Look forward to the story this new grasshopper manufacture will create in the future.”

For fans concerned that joining Chinese publishing giant NetEase means Grasshopper is relegated to making mobile games, the phrase “consumer games” in Suda’s comment is generally used in Japan to refer to console games and / or games. PC.

Suda also said the studio is now recruiting for a wide range of positions. Anyone interested in applying should visit Grasshopper Manufacture website for more details.

NetEase Games also made a statement praising the “strong style”, the “clear design philosophy” and the “unique taste of Suda and Grasshopper from concept to fine details.”

The publisher, which currently has more than 10,000 developers, also said that this acquisition should be seen as a message to major game developers in Japan and the rest of the world that the company wants to continue investing in the quality and appeal of its products. games.

NetEase is rumored to be in negotiations with the creator of the Yakuza series, Toshihiro Nagoshi, who recently fueled speculation when he parted ways with his high-profile role at Sega. The idea of ​​two radically different developers as Suda and Nagoshi as loose colleagues under the NetEase umbrella is certainly interesting.

The most recent game from Grasshopper Manufacture was No More Heroes III for the Nintendo Switch. You can read the full IGN review here.

Daniel Robson is the editor-in-chief of IGN Japan. Without guessing which game inspired his Twitter account, @NoMoreDaniels